So it sounds like most of the ppl on this forum have had LMS tunes and then switched to "better" tuners. Im just trying to find out what problems ppl have had with this tune. Im running LMS 93 right now. Should I switch to something else?
LMS problems
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luigisho
SHO Member
If it is working fine then probably not. Some of their updates did have issues. Not sure about current tune iteration. If you are able to look at data and the a:f ratio is ok and the car performs to expectations then you should be ok
yaycandy
Aerospace Engineer
V11 had issues, whatever they are at now im sure its fine
My LMS tune had shifting issues on the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts when I was getting on it. LMS was unable to resolve the shifting issues so I jumped to GH and the power seems similar but my car has never missed a shift since going to GH.
Well what i want to do is go fast like everyone else that tunes there car lol. I was just looking for examples of why ppl **** away hundreds of dollars and then switch to something else. Ive not personally had any issues other than harsh shifts the first couple times i drove it. Shifts like a boss now though. Im startn to think tunes are like oil. Everybody has an opinion. I hear alot of good things about GH though. Maybe ill switch it up eventually and compare. I want those upgraded turbos too! Thanks for the feedback fellas.
dump the lms. I have had the V11 and your trans will thank you later. Your getting a s h it (canned ) tune and the others are way better. even more so if you go upgraded turbitskis Lms will be of no help at this point. the my cal device leaves you locked to them and the sct will let you pick most anyone else.
limited02
SHO Member
What version tune are you running? In a nutshell, the V11 tune had shifting issues that a lot of people noticed and how LMS handled it on here was extremely poor. Eventually they addressed it, but the damage to their reputation was already done.
I've been LMS tuned the last 5 years and my car runs great and because of that, I haven't switched ('12 MKS running the 93+X tune). However, if I were starting fresh or decide to push my car further, I most likely would seek out other options.
DadMobile
Worlds 3rd least slowest Ecoboost SHO
If you wanna want go fast you should probably switch. Pushing these cars takes more than a simple canned tune. I know GHT, AJP, & Ortiz can can do this.
I personally use GHT which has a solid canned tune. If you want to push your car I can’t recommend them enough. One of the tricky aspects when your north of 500 whp is traction! The SHO is basically a FWD car. Tuning the car at higher power levels and getting the car to hook off the launch, into second, into third while gaining acceleration is the tricky part. My PB is an 11.47 and even then I had a wee bit of wheel hop cost a little bit of time. My current tune has eliminated the wheel hop and car launches hard. Haven’t been able to get any times on the new tune though..
I started with a GHT canned tune then had it dyno tuned, then more revisions. But I say that my car will hook on the street 1st through 3rd with 275 Nitto 555 R II’s lowered with full Bolt-on’s.
Why do I mention all this? Because you wont experience any of it with LMS. Unless someone can show me otherwise.
I personally use GHT which has a solid canned tune. If you want to push your car I can’t recommend them enough. One of the tricky aspects when your north of 500 whp is traction! The SHO is basically a FWD car. Tuning the car at higher power levels and getting the car to hook off the launch, into second, into third while gaining acceleration is the tricky part. My PB is an 11.47 and even then I had a wee bit of wheel hop cost a little bit of time. My current tune has eliminated the wheel hop and car launches hard. Haven’t been able to get any times on the new tune though..
I started with a GHT canned tune then had it dyno tuned, then more revisions. But I say that my car will hook on the street 1st through 3rd with 275 Nitto 555 R II’s lowered with full Bolt-on’s.
Why do I mention all this? Because you wont experience any of it with LMS. Unless someone can show me otherwise.
Thanks for the info man. My car is pretty stock right now. I haven't had it very long. Im sure ill get faster. Not really goin for a drag car right now. Just a fun car. Also i have an extended warranty too so cant do much that cant be undone if needed. Honestly i would never buy a ford without a warranty lol. Im a machinist at a tool and die shop that makes dies for ford, gm, toyota, honda, subaru, tesla, and denso. Ford by far has the loosest tolerances on there aluminum parts. Anyway knowing this kinda scared me into getting an extended warranty so im kinda tied down as far as mods go which ***** but needed 4 doors and didnt want a **** pack payment lol. But when this warranty runs out then ill break it lol
I guess s c a t pack is a bad word? ***
The s t u p i d. ******* i n g nannies on the site . I for sure want to swear a lot more ….only bc now it’s a restriction.
I used LMS at first and everything seemed ok, didn’t have much to compare it to. Although 93 stage 4 X would jolt the dash on the 1-2 shift. Always seemed like it was hurting it. Probably was/did. I switched to AJP after some crappy customer service and weak tuning. I bought their power pack stage 1…rebranded AirAid intake, 160 t stat, precision spark plugs(extremely over priced stock spark plus….I couldn’t believe they weren’t upgraded spark plugs when I learned more) and 3bar map sensor. Then I did catless downpipes. And their demise for me was when I installed a mechanical boost gauge. I was at a whopping 10psi…….that’s when I started digging…reading other ppl with LMS tunes seeing 14-15 psi…..a Ford engineer explaining the Ecoboost engine and stock 12 psi….so why was I running less boost than stock when I’m trying to get more performance? LMS said I must have installed it wrong…..you know how much time I spent messing around with trying to figure out what I did wrong???? I didn’t do anything wrong. So I gave up….and what was my options? Travel from Vermont to Michigan for an extremely overpriced custom Dyno tune? Spend money on gas, food, hotels for what? 12psi?
I know it’s not all about boost but coming from a 06 Subaru Legacy GT with Cobb tuning, ACT clutch and flywheel, catless downpipe, greddy catback with some Tein lowering springs and wheels….etc I was used to 15-16 psi on that little setup way back then….my first turbo car…..so 10 psi to me was wayyyyyy underpowered.
So I then looked into their meth injection as the key to going faster. They wanted 3k dollars + for the kit and install…..what? The kit was $999.99 and it was an Alky Kit….but they put Livernois on the rubber sleeve of the pump….and I was so Livernois at the time that I was disappointed when it arrived and it said Alky Control. I was so confused….I thought it was Livernois who made it…..that’s when it really started to make me wonder…..what is Livernois? Do that actually even make the stuff they claim to?
So I opted to install the kit myself…saved 2k + dollars…..I flashed their meth tune….boom….11 psi. Then I was done. ******* Livernois. I wasn’t installing all these parts on my car to not use them.
So I joined Ecoboostperformanceforum merely to send AJPTURBO a pm. I didn’t change any parts except added a trans cooler…..any by the end of that year I was at 18 psi running 12.0 full interior and a nice 11.83 run with the backseats out in October. Never ever ever ever ever ever would have happened with LMS.
I used LMS at first and everything seemed ok, didn’t have much to compare it to. Although 93 stage 4 X would jolt the dash on the 1-2 shift. Always seemed like it was hurting it. Probably was/did. I switched to AJP after some crappy customer service and weak tuning. I bought their power pack stage 1…rebranded AirAid intake, 160 t stat, precision spark plugs(extremely over priced stock spark plus….I couldn’t believe they weren’t upgraded spark plugs when I learned more) and 3bar map sensor. Then I did catless downpipes. And their demise for me was when I installed a mechanical boost gauge. I was at a whopping 10psi…….that’s when I started digging…reading other ppl with LMS tunes seeing 14-15 psi…..a Ford engineer explaining the Ecoboost engine and stock 12 psi….so why was I running less boost than stock when I’m trying to get more performance? LMS said I must have installed it wrong…..you know how much time I spent messing around with trying to figure out what I did wrong???? I didn’t do anything wrong. So I gave up….and what was my options? Travel from Vermont to Michigan for an extremely overpriced custom Dyno tune? Spend money on gas, food, hotels for what? 12psi?
I know it’s not all about boost but coming from a 06 Subaru Legacy GT with Cobb tuning, ACT clutch and flywheel, catless downpipe, greddy catback with some Tein lowering springs and wheels….etc I was used to 15-16 psi on that little setup way back then….my first turbo car…..so 10 psi to me was wayyyyyy underpowered.
So I then looked into their meth injection as the key to going faster. They wanted 3k dollars + for the kit and install…..what? The kit was $999.99 and it was an Alky Kit….but they put Livernois on the rubber sleeve of the pump….and I was so Livernois at the time that I was disappointed when it arrived and it said Alky Control. I was so confused….I thought it was Livernois who made it…..that’s when it really started to make me wonder…..what is Livernois? Do that actually even make the stuff they claim to?
So I opted to install the kit myself…saved 2k + dollars…..I flashed their meth tune….boom….11 psi. Then I was done. ******* Livernois. I wasn’t installing all these parts on my car to not use them.
So I joined Ecoboostperformanceforum merely to send AJPTURBO a pm. I didn’t change any parts except added a trans cooler…..any by the end of that year I was at 18 psi running 12.0 full interior and a nice 11.83 run with the backseats out in October. Never ever ever ever ever ever would have happened with LMS.
GHNorth
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I bought into LMS just at the time they released the infamous V11 tune. I experienced the "hanging" 1-2 shift, so I added the extra pint of transmission fluid and installed new spark plugs per LMS instructions. Made no difference.
I did NOT invest more money into another tune because I do not race and don't even drive my car that often.
However, I did contact LMS twice since then when other LMS users posted that a new tune was being offered (LMS never contacted me.)
So now I am on their V20 tune, which seems to be working properly. They also mentioned that Ford had changed the stock strategy code for my VIN, and the new tune package include this new stock strategy.
"The calibrators have made some additional fine tuning adjustments over those past few versions so v20 is nearly a new tune from top to bottom with improvements in fueling, shifting, timing / boost, etc."
Bottom line... if you are happy with your LMS tune then just stick with it. If you want more performance later (which means more $$$ anyway) then you can switch to the latest designer tuner.
Finally a good example. Thanks man. After reading that im ****** at livernois too lol. Im gonna make the switch to gh pretty soon i think... also had a 06 legacy. Put 195k on it before trading it in. Awsome car.
As a new member myself I agree with everyone's responses to your question. I've spoke or emailed to LMS, unleashed , AJP, and GH. I personally am going with AJP. After my feedback with these tuners, all but LMS provided excellent personal service in answering all my questions. AJP put up with my constant back and forth and for me provided me most insight into my wants and needs for my car.
ridered74
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My LMS tune was fine on my 2011 and it was fine on my 2015 until I added downpipes and got the tune updated. At that point it would no longer shift into 2nd gear on WOT and of course I was told I was the only one having this issue and blah blah blah.
Once I got the gearhead tune I realized what I was missing out on the shifting that I heard everyone raving about. LMS tune slams into 2nd gear and makes you think you have lots of power, but really all you have is a car that is slamming it into 2nd gear.
If you are not looking to add mods anytime soon and make it quicker, I'd probably advise saving the money and sticking with what you have. A tenth or two really isn't all that noticeable, but if you add more go fast parts down the road I would switch tuners.
Once I got the gearhead tune I realized what I was missing out on the shifting that I heard everyone raving about. LMS tune slams into 2nd gear and makes you think you have lots of power, but really all you have is a car that is slamming it into 2nd gear.
If you are not looking to add mods anytime soon and make it quicker, I'd probably advise saving the money and sticking with what you have. A tenth or two really isn't all that noticeable, but if you add more go fast parts down the road I would switch tuners.
luigisho
SHO Member
I think this is smart. Higher degrees of tech and mechanical complexity (tt & awd) scream warranty to me and I've owned a Ford of some kind for decades. I would extend it as far out as I could on this platform
shoblock
SHO Member
I too experienced the V11 nightmare, as was well documented here by myself and others. Gearhead saved my car, and now after turning 90,000 miles this week, I can honestly say this car has been trouble free since day one.
I sat in the quality meetings each morning in the engine plant where all of our motors were built. This is the meeting where warranties were voided and I can say in my 8 1/2 years, less than 10 were voided. We dealt with a range of issues going from one defective spark plug in Wisconsin, to a complete warranty replacement motor in Florida. All were dealt with professionally, and plant reps went to dealers on a regular basis when there were tough issues. If a motor came back under warranty, it was torn down with every component, nut, and bolt accounted for.
I have a great deal of confidence in my car knowing the care that is taken each day for problem solving at Ford.
It turns high 12's and gets 22 miles per gallon. Anyone I take for a ride is impressed with the performance, and I've never had to add oil between changes. I always ran 93 octane and used Mobil 1 oil. Mods are in my signature.
This car has been a totally dependable daily driver since day one.
Just my two cents.
SHOBLOCK
I sat in the quality meetings each morning in the engine plant where all of our motors were built. This is the meeting where warranties were voided and I can say in my 8 1/2 years, less than 10 were voided. We dealt with a range of issues going from one defective spark plug in Wisconsin, to a complete warranty replacement motor in Florida. All were dealt with professionally, and plant reps went to dealers on a regular basis when there were tough issues. If a motor came back under warranty, it was torn down with every component, nut, and bolt accounted for.
I have a great deal of confidence in my car knowing the care that is taken each day for problem solving at Ford.
It turns high 12's and gets 22 miles per gallon. Anyone I take for a ride is impressed with the performance, and I've never had to add oil between changes. I always ran 93 octane and used Mobil 1 oil. Mods are in my signature.
This car has been a totally dependable daily driver since day one.
Just my two cents.
SHOBLOCK
Mind if I ask what they were voided for?
